Monday, 2 February 2015

QUICK CROYDON NEWS ROUND-UP- Multi-talented GLEN HART has created an excellent ANIMATION - Why TUSC? You can see it on YouTube, > HERE

- Look what’s been happening recently in LAMBETH. STEVE REED was council leader here until he was parachuted into Croydon North. A petition has been organised through Change.org because, it says, “Lambeth council is forcing people from their homes”.

Lambeth United Housing Co-op says - Lambeth Council is destroying housing co-ops that have existed in the borough for 40 years, while at the same time marketing itself as a ‘co-operative council’.

Lambeth’s actions means that members of these co-ops (including OAPs and other vulnerable people) are being taken to court so that the council can gain possession of their homes – homes that co-op residents have maintained across this 40-year period – and sell them on the open market, at auction.

And now? The “Labour” council is selling off libraries! Steve Reed is on record saying he is proud of establishing what he calls a “co-operative council” in Lambeth. No irony intended…

- According to Private Eye, CROYDON COUNCIL'S shiny new offices, Bernard Weatherill House cost more, per square metre, than the Shard! It cost £140 million - that’s £6,280 per square metre. The Shard cost a relatively dirt-cheap £4,545 psm to build. The council is also paying £85 million in interest payments. Well, not actually the council…

There was a letter in the MORNING STAR recently from an RMT member, praising our candidate Glen, known to the writer for many years, as “a committed trade unionist and socialist”.

He was, however, very disappointed that the Communist Party of Britain is not participating in the TUSC Coalition - despite the CPB’s claims to want a broad working class, socialist alliance to challenge the decrepit One Nation Labour.

We too would love to see the CPB in the TUSC alliance. We recently met up with the Croydon branch of the CPB and told them as much. They sympathised as individuals, but, they said, must wait for the Party nationally to make a decision.

We’d also love to see LEFT UNITY in the Coalition. Regrettably, LU nationally has chosen to remain separate (despite their name). Fortunately, though, many individual LU members and branches are working with us.

There is to be a BY-ELECTION IN SELHURST. There has been a minor scandal because it was precipitated by the untimely death of the local councillor; and UKIP, we understand, were somewhat quick in petitioning for the by-election - ahead even of the councillor’s funeral.

Once petitioned though, the “Labour” council arranged the election in double-quick time. By our calculation, they could have organised it so as to allow at least another week for preparation and obtaining nominations. That would have permitted TUSC to challenge the seat.